


Strong

by orphan_account



Series: Supernatural Shorts [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Guilty Dean, Platonic Wincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2018-01-02 06:31:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean wishes he had Sam's strength.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the beginning of S08, but before the Trials. I plan to write a guilty!Sam companion to this.

Dean awakens, shivering and sweating, from another nightmare.

It's been over three years since his time in hell, and he doesn't really dream about it that much anymore. But it seems that, lately, the dreams have been returning to him in full force – and with one very new, disturbing detail, one that's enough to make him almost cry out in horror every time he returns to the waking world.

He turns over to look at Sam, who's sharing the bed with him. His little brother is sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by any memories of his own time in hell. Dean envies him so much, not just because Sam is strong enough to put all that behind him, but because Sam is just _strong_ – strong enough to forgive the people who've hurt him or let him down (like Castiel, who took down Death's wall and left Sam a gibbering wreck for almost a year, or Dean, who hasn't stopped giving him shit since Purgatory), strong enough to have faith that there's some kind of light waiting at the end of this tortuous road of misery, strong enough (even) to give up the hunter's lifestyle without incurring the crippling sense of guilt that would have haunted Dean to his dying days.

Every time Sam fucked up or betrayed him in some way, Dean has chosen to stand by him, support him, love him – and yet, it's still so hard to _forgive_ him.

Maybe that's why, when he dreams about hell now, he dreams that all of his torture victims have Sam's face. Or why he seems to do everything in his power now to push him away and be as off-putting as possible (to make Sam think that he doesn't even _like_ him all that much, when he's in fact far too emotionally frail to ever be able to live without him).

And – _whattaya know_ – Sam continues to forgive him that, too.

"Sammy," he croaks, and his little brother turns over blearily in sleep, barely aware of him but still reaching out with warm arms to hold him.

"It's okay, Dean," Sam mutters, his eyes still tightly closed, as if lost in a dream of his own. "It's okay." Dean lets Sam pull him close, and wonders who's really the older brother here.


End file.
